Bell Potter upgrades PNR’s earnings forecasts, ups price target

Shares in Western Australian based gold producer, Pantoro (ASX: PNR), were well supported on Monday after the company indicated that its production expansion strategy at the Nicolsons project was tracking well. Yesterday’s intraday high of 21 cents was an all-time high since the group acquired the Nicolsons Find mine located in Halls Creek in April 2014.

Looking through the numbers released yesterday, production for the three months to December 31, 2016 of 9600 ounces represented an increase of 30% on the previous corresponding quarter.

Also of significance was the fact that the company achieved record monthly gold production in December of 4627 ounces. On an annualised basis this implies production of more than 50,000 ounces.

This suggests Bell Potter is on the mark with its expectation of fiscal 2018 production of 55,000 ounces. The broker forecasts that this would generate a net profit of $32 million in that year, representing earnings per share of 4.2 cents, implying a PE multiple of 4.8 relative to yesterday’s closing price of 20 cents.

This appears conservative, particularly for a company that stands to benefit from a strong Australian dollar gold price.

Based on the current spot US dollar price of circa US$1180 the Australian dollar gold price is in the order of $1600. Given that Bell Potter is forecasting PNR’s all in sustaining costs (AISC) to be in the order of $780 per ounce in fiscal 2018, this leaves a robust margin of approximately $820 per ounce.

Bell Potter has a buy recommendation on the stock, and after increasing its earnings per share estimates for fiscal 2017 by 14%, the broker has lifted its price target from 24 cents to 26 cents, representing a 30% premium to yesterday’s closing price.

Of course broker projections and price targets are only estimates and may not be met. Also, historical data in terms of earnings performance and/or share trading patterns should not be used as the basis for an investment as they may or may not be replicated. Those considering this stock should seek independent financial advice.

PNR has also caught the eye of Duncan Hughes from Somers and Partners and he highlighted the potential for medium-term expansion, saying, “On the exploration front, the company continues to advance its understanding of the project and we continue to see potential for organic growth of additional production ounces through exploration success”.

S3 Consortium Pty Ltd (CAR No.433913) is a corporate authorised representative of Maven Capital Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 418504). The information contained in this article is general information only. Any advice is general advice only. Neither your personal objectives, financial situation nor needs have been taken into consideration. Accordingly you should consider how appropriate the advice (if any) is to those objectives, financial situation and needs, before acting on the advice.

Conflict of Interest Notice

S3 Consortium Pty Ltd does and seeks to do business with companies featured in its articles. As a result, investors should be aware that the Firm may have a conflict of interest that could affect the objectivity of this article. Investors should consider this article as only a single factor in making any investment decision. The publishers of this article also wish to disclose that they may hold this stock in their portfolios and that any decision to purchase this stock should be done so after the purchaser has made their own inquires as to the validity of any information in this article.

Publishers Notice

The information contained in this article is current at the finalised date. The information contained in this article is based on sources reasonably considered to be reliable by S3 Consortium Pty Ltd, and available in the public domain. No “insider information” is ever sourced, disclosed or used by S3 Consortium.

The information in this website is general information only. Any advice is general advice only. Your personal objectives, financial situation or needs have not been taken into consideration. Accordingly you should consider how appropriate the advice (if any) is to those objectives, financial situation and needs, before acting on the advice. S3 Consortium Pty Ltd (CAR No.433913) is a corporate authorised representative of Maven Capital Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 418504).